When using Oracle Database 10g Release 1 (10.1.x) for the Metadata Repository or after upgrading the Metadata Repository to Oracle Database 10g Release 1, you might see the following error on the Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Connection pages, the Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer Connection pages, and the Public Connection definition page in Fusion Middleware Control:

To resolve this issue, make the following changes in the Metadata Repository database:

Edit the init%ORACLE_SID%.ora file. This file exists either in the dbs folder or the database folder. For example, in Windows, this file is located in the DB_install_home/database/ folder.

Add the following line to this file:

event="10946 trace name context forever, level 36"

If an spfile%ORACLE_SID%.ora exists in either the dbs folder or the database folder, rename the file to spfile%ORACLE_SID%.bak. Changes to init%ORACLE_SID%.ora are not loaded if the database server finds an spfile.

43.1.2 Compatibility Issues with Required Support Files

Oracle BI Discoverer also uses Oracle Required Support Files (RSF), specifically RSF version 11.1.0.7. This version of the Oracle Required Support Files is installed during Oracle BI Discoverer installation.

Note that the Required Support Files version 11.1.0.7 is incompatible with earlier versions of Oracle Database 10g. So if the machine on which you install Oracle BI Discoverer already has a version of Oracle Database 10g or database client software that is earlier than 11.1.0.7, there will be compatibility issues. For example, if you install Oracle BI Discoverer and attempt to run a version of SQL*Plus earlier than 11.1.0.7, then the following error is displayed:

ORA-12557 TNS: protocol adapter not loadable

To avoid the compatibility issues, upgrade Oracle Database 10g or database client software on the machine to the same version (11.1.0.7) as the version of the Required Support Files that were installed with Oracle BI Discoverer.

This issue does not exist for Oracle9i Database Server.

43.1.3 Serif Font Issue in Worksheets

You might notice unsightly font issues when using a non-English locale such as Czech. For example, when a worksheet uses a serif font, text in that worksheet might be displayed incorrectly on the screen and in printouts.

To work around this issue, update the file that maps the serif fonts. The name of this file differs depending on the locale in use. When you use Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational or Plus OLAP in English, the file is named file.properties. If you use Oracle BI Discoverer in a non-English locale, then the file name includes the code for the locale, such as file.properties.cs for Czech.

43.1.4 Query Prediction Requires the Majority of the Query Time

When using Oracle BI Discoverer with a relational data source, you can predict the time that is required to retrieve information by setting the value of the QPPEnable preference to 1. However, in some circumstances, the majority of the time taken to retrieve information is consumed by the prediction activity itself.

To work around this issue, set the value of the QPPObtainCostMethod preference to 0 (use the EXPLAIN PLAN statement to predict query times) rather than to 1 (use dynamic views to predict query times).

For more information about setting preferences, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Configuration Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer.

To use word wrap settings correctly, you must understand how they are designed for Oracle BI Discoverer:

Oracle BI Discoverer Plus: Word wrap settings that you make in Oracle BI Discoverer Plus are saved in the worksheet and affect the display of worksheets in Oracle BI Discoverer Plus and when printing to PDF.

Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer: Word wrap settings that you see in the Print Settings dialog work as follows:

The word wrap settings do not affect the display of worksheets in Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer.

For relational data:

The word wrap settings do affect the printing of worksheets to PDF.

If the Always wrap text when size exceeds column width box is checked, then the print settings in Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer do override the settings made in a worksheet in Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational for printing to PDF.

If the Always wrap text when size exceeds column width box is not checked, then the print settings in Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer do not override the settings made in a worksheet in Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational for printing to PDF.

For OLAP data:

The word wrap settings do not affect the printing of worksheets to PDF.

Regardless of whether the Always wrap text when size exceeds column width check box is selected, the print settings in Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer never override the settings made in a worksheet in Oracle BI Discoverer Plus OLAP for printing to PDF.

43.1.6 Applet Appears Behind Browser Window

When you use Microsoft Internet Explorer, the Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational or Plus OLAP applet initialization and download dialog appears behind the browser window from which it was launched. After the applet is downloaded and initialized, it appears in front of the browser window from which it was launched.

To work around this issue:

Use a browser other than Internet Explorer, such as Netscape Navigator or Mozilla Firefox.

Use the Oracle BI Discoverer Plus URL parameter _plus_popup=false, which is documented in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Configuration Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer.

43.1.7 Issues with Mac OS X Browser and Oracle BI Discoverer Plus

The following are issues that you might encounter when you use the Safari browser on Mac OS X with Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational or Plus OLAP:

If you resize the browser window in the applet, then some parts of the content might be clipped. To work around this problem, always maximize the browser window for the applet when working with Mac OS X.

Keyboard combinations (also known as mnemonics) do not work in Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational and Plus OLAP.

For example, you cannot press Alt+F to access the File menu.

In the Share Workbooks dialog of Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational, the leading characters of the "Shared:" list are clipped. In other words, the left edge of the list is truncated. For example, if you shared a workbook with DISCODEV, then you will only see SCODEV in the list. The title for the list is also truncated such that you see only the vertical line of the "d" in "Shared" and the colon (that is, "l:").

The dialog continues to work as expected, but you might have difficulty reading the names in the "Shared:" list.

This issue has no workaround.

43.1.8 Issues with Turkish Regional Settings

Because of Sun JRE 1.4 bug 4688797, you might encounter issues when connecting to a database schema from a computer that has Turkish regional settings. You will encounter the issue when you attempt to connect to a database schema with a user name that contains certain letters, such as the letter 'I' or 'i', for example, in "bibdemo". See the Sun JRE bug for information on the letters that are affected.

To work around this issue, either do not use Turkish regional settings or use a user name that does not contain the affected letters.

43.1.9 Multibyte Characters Rendered as Square Boxes in Exported PDF and Other Formats

When you export a workbook to PDF and other formats, multibyte characters (for example, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese characters) appear as square boxes.

To work around this issue, copy the following Albany fonts from ORACLE_HOME/jdk/jre/lib/fonts to the fonts folder of your JDK (Oracle JRockit or Sun) within the MW_HOME directory. For example, if you are using Sun JDK, you must copy the fonts to MW_HOME/jre/jdk160_11/lib/fonts.

AlbanWTJ.ttf

AlbanWTK.ttf

AlbanWTS.ttf

AlbanWTT.ttf

ALBANYWT.ttf

43.1.10 Java Plug-in Not Downloaded Automatically on Firefox

When you attempt to connect to Discoverer Plus by using the Mozilla Firefox browser on a machine that does not have Java 1.6 installed, the browser does not download the JRE 1.6 plug-in automatically. Instead, the browser displays the following message:

Additional plugins are required to display this page...

You must download the JRE 1.6 plug-in (by clicking the Install Missing Plugin link) and install it manually.

43.1.11 HTTP 404 Error While Accessing Discoverer on a Remote Machine

When you attempt to connect to Discoverer Plus, occasionally, the browser returns an HTTP 404 (File Not Found) error.

To work around this issue, in the System MBean Browser of Fusion Middleware Control, change the TransportProtocols attribute of the Plus Config MBean to "jrmp,http" (or "jrmp,https" if Discoverer Plus is accessed by using secure HTTP).

When you update the web services configuration parameter (Maximum Sessions) using the Discoverer Web Services Configuration page of Fusion Middleware Control and click Apply, the following error message is displayed:

Applying changes - Failed.
Exception caught:

You can ignore the error message because the changes are applied even if the exception is thrown. Alternatively, you can update the MaxSessions attribute of the WebServicesConfig MBean in the System MBean Browser of Fusion Middleware Control.

When you extend a domain and add Discoverer application in a remote machine, you may see the following exception in the WebLogic Server log:

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: ODL-52057: The handler 'disco-server-handler' is not defined.

To work around this issue, modify the log_handlers and loggers elements in the logging.xml file located in the DOMAIN_HOME/config/fmwconfig/servers/WLS_DISCO folder of the machine where the domain exists.

43.1.17 Oracle BI Discoverer Startup Fails after Shutdown

When you first start up the Discoverer application from Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control or Oracle WebLogic Administration Console after shutting down the application instance, the startup fails with error logs.

To work around this issue, start the Discoverer application again. The second time the application starts without any error message.

43.1.18 The Database Export and Import Utility does not Work with Applications Mode EUL

You cannot use the standard database export and import utilities to export or import the database, EUL tables and database objects referenced by the Applications Mode EUL definitions. The standard database export and import utility can be used only for standard EUL definitions.

43.1.19 Install-level Scripts are not Updated in Existing Instances after Patching

When you upgrade Oracle Discoverer 11gR1 PS1 to 11gR1 PS2 or 11gR1 PS3, the patch will be installed in the ORACLE_HOME folder. Therefore, script changes in the new patch set will not be available for existing Oracle Discoverer instances, which are located in the ORACLE_INSTANCE folder. However, new instances that are created after the patch upgrade will be updated.

To work around this issue, after a patch upgrade manually copy the new scripts to the existing ORACLE_INSTANCE folders. For example, copy the new discenv.sh script file from ORACLE_HOME to the ORACLE_INSTANCE/Discoverer/Discoverer_instance-name/util/ folder.

43.2.1 Text Appearing Truncated or Clipped

When you run Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational with Sun Java Plug-in 1.4.2_06, the Browser Look and Feel, and an Asian language (such as Korean or Chinese), you might notice that static text and text in buttons in the user interface appears truncated or clipped. To work around this issue, do one of the following:

Change the Look and Feel to either Plastic or System.

Use JInitiator 1.3.1.17 instead of the Sun Java Plug-in.

Install Sun Java Plug-in version 1.4.2_10 or higher.

43.2.2 Non-ASCII Characters Not Saved Correctly in Title or Text Area

When you save a new workbook in Oracle BI Discoverer Plus, any text characters beyond the standard ASCII characters are not saved correctly when all the conditions that are described in the following list are met:

You are logged in as an Oracle e-Business Suite user.

The language for the computer is not English.

Oracle BI Discoverer Plus is running against an Oracle e-Business Suite database that does not have that non-English language installed.

This issue has no workaround.

43.2.3 Canceling Query Causes Discoverer to Hang

If you cancel a query that is running in Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational, then you are prompted to either choose YES to undo the changes or NO to show a blank sheet. If you choose YES, then Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational hangs and you must close the window and restart.

To work around this issue, choose NO to show a blank worksheet. You can then refresh the sheet and continue working.

43.2.4 Nonaggregable Values Not Displayed for Scheduled Workbooks

Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational does not display nonaggregable values for scheduled workbooks. In other words, Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational processes scheduled workbooks as if you selected the Show values that cannot be aggregated as: <Non-aggregable label> option in the Worksheet Properties dialog: Aggregation tab.

Nonaggregable values include those based on the following SQL functions:

If you use Oracle BI Discoverer Plus Relational to open a worksheet that was created using Oracle BI Discoverer Desktop Version 9.0.4 (or earlier), the size of the title area for that worksheet defaults to two lines in height. A title height of two lines might be a problem if a worksheet title requires more than or less than two lines. If you want to change the size of the title area, you must resize the title area manually and save the worksheet.

To resize the title area for a worksheet, open the worksheet and drag the bar at the bottom of the title area pane up or down.

43.3 Issues Specific to Oracle BI Discoverer Plus OLAP

This section describes issues that are specific to Oracle BI Discoverer Plus OLAP. It includes the following topics:

43.4.1 Inability to Turn Off Display of Range Min and Max as Labels

In the Display Options of a gauge portlet, the Minimum Value and Maximum Value range labels are selected but are also disabled so that you cannot deselect the display of those values. The values for the minimum and the maximum appear at the ends of every gauge in the set except for those gauges where the value to be gauged is out of the range of the minimum and the maximum values. For those gauges where the value to be displayed exceeds the range of the minimum and the maximum values, the gauge will automatically adjust to accommodate the value.

If you configure Oracle BI Discoverer Portlet Provider to work with Oracle Single Sign-On and SSL, then UIX images might not display correctly in Oracle BI Discoverer. For example, on the Connect to OracleBI Discoverer page, the expand icon (that is, the blue + symbol) in the Details column of the Discoverer connections list might not display correctly.

To address this issue, you must add certain server startup properties.

Select the Server Start tab on the Configurations page of the WebLogic Server Administration Console.

In the Arguments field, append the following lines, if they do not exist.

-Doracle.discoverer.applications.protocol=https

-Doracle.discoverer.applications.port=port_no

Set port_no to the HTTPS port number that you want to use (for example, 4443).

Restart the server.

43.4.3 Issues with Discoverer Portlets in WebCenter

The following issues exist for Discoverer portlets displayed in Oracle WebCenter.

When a Worksheet portlet is displayed in Oracle WebCenter, the links to navigate to the next set of records does not work.

When a List of Worksheets portlet is displayed in Oracle WebCenter, the Expand All Icons link does not work.

To work around these issues, set the RenderPortletInIFrame attribute of the portlet tag to TRUE. For more information, see "Setting Attribute Values for the Portlet Tag" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle WebCenter.

43.4.4 Issue while Publishing Discoverer WSRP Portlets in Portals Other than Oracle Portal and Oracle WebCenter

When you publish Discoverer WSRP Portlets in portals other than Oracle Portal and Oracle WebCenter (such as Oracle WebLogic Portal and IBM WebSphere Portal), the pop-up windows for input selection will have the same page layout as the portal page with all navigation options. If you select any of these navigation options, the current portlet state will be lost. You might need to start publishing the portlet from the beginnng.

The issue has no workaround.

43.4.5 Issue with Portlet Titles in Discoverer WSRP Portlets Published on IBM WebSphere

You cannot dynamically change the portlet title of a Discoverer WSRP portlet in IBM WebSphere after it is published. Static title is rendered in the portal for each portlet instance.

To work around this issue, set a meaningful title for the portlet by editing the title using the Set Title or Description option in the WebSphere portal. For more information about changing the title of a portlet, see WebSphere documentation.

43.4.6 Issue with Color and Date Pickers in Discoverer WSRP Portlets

The Color and Date pickers in Discoverer WSRP Portlets do not work on portals other than Oracle WebCenter.

On portals such as Oracle Portal, Oracle WebLogic Portal and IBM WebSphere, to workaround this issue, set the value of the configuration parameter useInlineUIXPicker to true. The default value of this parameter is false. When you set the useInlineUIXPicker parameter to true, set the color and date as follows:

Inline color pickers are enabled in the Gauges Selection page and you can select a color from the palette.

You cannot select the color using the Format option of the Personalize menu of the worksheet. Use the Analyze option in the portlet window to change the color.

The Date picker in the Refresh option will not be available. Enter the date manually.

In Oracle Portal and Oracle WebLogic Portal, when you select values from the parameter LOV from a worksheet portlet published by using the Discoverer WSRP Portlet producer, the pop-up window is not getting closed on selection of values.You must explicitly close the pop-up window after selection of values.

43.5 Issues Specific to Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer

This section describes issues that are specific to Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer. It includes the following topics:

43.5.1 Drill Icons Cannot Be Hidden in Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer

The pref.txt file contains a setting called ShowDrillIcon, which is not functioning properly. If you set ShowDrillIcon to False, then drill icons are still displayed in Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer.

The issue has no workaround.

43.5.2 Error Displaying Page for Multiple SSO Users

When an Oracle Single Sign-On (SSO) user tries to view a worksheet from a List of Worksheets Portlet by using the same browser window that is already being used by an SSO user to view that worksheet, the second user sees the following error message: "The page cannot be displayed".

To work around this issue, start a new browser session and view the worksheet.

43.5.3 Inability to Disable the Display of Row Numbers

Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer no longer offers the ability to disable the display of row numbers in a tabular worksheet.

43.5.4 Issues with Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer Embedded in Frames

Users might see JavaScript errors such as "Access Denied" or other unexpected behavior when both of the following conditions are met:

When Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer is embedded in an IFRAME tag.

When the domain of the server that hosts the HTML page with the IFRAME tag is different from the domain of the Oracle BI Discoverer server that is running Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer.

Use one of the following workarounds for this issue:

Run the Oracle BI Discoverer server and the server that hosts the HTML page with the IFRAME tag in the same domain.

Alter the Common2_2_20.js file on the Oracle BI Discoverer server using the following steps:

Use Fusion Middleware Control to stop all services on the middle tier for Oracle Business Intelligence.

Make a backup copy of the Common2_2_20.js file from the following directory:

managed_server is the name of the managed server on which the Discoverer application is deployed.

release is the release number of Discoverer. For example, 11.1.1.1.0.

Edit the Common2_2_20.js file and replace all occurrences of "parent._pprSomeAction" with "window._pprSomeAction".

Use Fusion Middleware Control to start all services on the middle tier for Oracle Business Intelligence.

Clear the browser cache on the client machine so that the new Common2_2_20.js file will be used.

43.5.5 Issue Exporting to PDF Under Certain Circumstances

If you are using Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer with Microsoft Internet Explorer, you might encounter an error message when you try to export to PDF a worksheet that is named with non-ASCII characters, a space, and a number. The export fails and you will see a message similar to the following one:

No %PDF- in a file header

Use one of the following methods to work around this issue:

Use a browser other than Internet Explorer, such as one from Netscape or Mozilla.

Remove the space between the non-ASCII characters and the number, or remove the number altogether.

Continue to use Internet Explorer and leave the space in the worksheet name, but follow these steps:

You can use Fusion Middleware Control to change the look and feel of Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer. That page contains a color chooser, or palette. If you use Fusion Middleware Control on Mac OS X with the Safari browser, then the page does not correctly enter the color code when you select a color from the palette.

To work around this issue, you can either use the Firefox browser or you can enter a color code directly.

The color codes are standard HTML hexadecimal color codes. You can enter one of the 49 colors that are available in the color palette, or you can enter any valid HTML hexadecimal color code.

43.5.7 Known Bug with JAWS Prevents Drilling Using the Enter Key

Oracle BI Discoverer can be used in conjunction with assistive technologies such as the JAWS screen reader. However, a bug in JAWS prevents the drilling feature from working correctly in Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer when querying a relational data source.

Assume that you use the keyboard to navigate to the drill icon beside an item in the worksheet header. When you press the Enter key to drill on that header item, the Drill page should be displayed as described in the "Worksheet Display page: (Page level tools and controls)" topic in the Help system and the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer Viewer).

However, when JAWS is running, the Drill page is not displayed. Instead, the Drill popup menu is displayed. It is not possible to select items from this popup menu by using the keyboard, and JAWS does not read the items on the popup menu.

This issue has no workaround.

43.5.8 JAWS Does Not Read Asterisks that Precede Fields

In Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer, an asterisk that precedes a text field indicates that the user is required to enter a value into that text field. The JAWS screen reader does not read an asterisk that precedes a required text field and does not otherwise indicate that the field is required.

When using Oracle BI Discoverer with Oracle Web Cache, note the following:

When Oracle Single Sign-On is enabled, Oracle Web Cache does not cache Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer pages, regardless of whether they are accessed using a public connection or a private connection.

If an Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer page is accessed directly through a URL and the URL contains URL parameters that specify login details (for example, user name, database name), then Oracle Web Cache does not cache the page. For example, Oracle Web Cache does not cache worksheet "Sheet 1" in workbook "Workbook 2" that is displayed by using the following URL:

In the example above, us= specifies the database user name, and db= specifies the database name.

However, Oracle Web Cache does cache worksheet "Sheet 1" in workbook "Workbook 2" if a user logs in manually to Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer by using the same login details, and navigates to the worksheet.

You must increase the delays for Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer by at least 60 seconds for Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer to properly cache workbooks with Oracle Web Cache.

This section describes issues that are specific to Oracle BI Discoverer EUL Command Line for Java.

43.6.1 Issue with Exported Non-ASCII Data

When you export multibyte or Eastern European data (such as the names of items and business areas in Japanese or Russian characters) from Oracle BI Discoverer EUL Command Line for Java on a platform other than Windows, the exported data is corrupted.

To work around this issue, edit the discwb.sh file that is located in the ORACLE_HOME/discoverer directory before exporting. Change the character set value in the NLS_LANG variable to UTF8.

For example, if the original setting of the variable is:

NLS_LANG="GERMAN_GERMANY.WE8ISO8859P1"

Change the setting to:

NLS_LANG="GERMAN_GERMANY.UTF8"

43.7 Issues Specific to Oracle BI Discoverer Administrator

This section describes issues that are specific to Oracle BI Discoverer Administrator. It includes the following topic:

43.7.1 Issue with Installation of Video Stores Tutorial

Before installing the video stores tutorial in Oracle Database 10g Enterprise Edition Release 2 (version 10.2.0.1 and higher), you must manually create the VIDEO5 user. If you attempt to install the video stores tutorial in Oracle Database 10g Enterprise Edition Release 2, then the installation will fail if the VIDEO5 user does not already exist. To work around this issue: